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Simple RPG Creation Guide
This Guide gives the basic explanations of how to begin making an RPG. The credit for this guide goes to ninjasheep, the group owner of the RPG Master Makers. Starting Your RPG RPGs can be the best games, and they can be the worst depending on how it was created. There are two factors that make a good RPG, one is the map, and the other is the game-play. An RPG with only one of these two factors is probably not respectable; what would an RPG be with many things to do and kill, but only have a baseplate for a map? Also, what if there was an RPG with a massive well-built map, but only two things to kill with one quest? So, the point is that the map and game-play go hand-in-hand, so you need both in almost equal amounts. RPG Naming This may seem like a basic thing for any RPG, with minimal thought, however an RPG’s name can make or break the game. Often, RPGs in ROBLOX tend to have ‘-Craft’ or ‘Scape’ in the name. In my opinion this is silly. I think this because the creators are only naming it due to how popular the Scape of Rune game is, or Crafting Mine game. So when naming ANYTHING in your RPG, never use the names 'Rune' or 'Dragon' or anything else like that, as it suggests your RPG is based off of another game. This is bad is because it is unimaginative, and when making an RPG, being unimaginative is something you want to avoid at all costs. Although, there are some names that are sort of 'Universal' because they are common materials for swords (ex, bronze, iron, steel) or other related object. So always remember to use all of your imagination! Storyline The Storyline is important for all RPGs to give the player a goal, a common enemy, and/or a purpose. Make sure the storyline makes sense, and follows basic story structure (Start, rising action, plateau, rising action, climax, falling action, respectively) or else it will leave players confused. Also, avoid cliché stories like the player is the “chosen one”, or the villain is trying world domination, etc. Get creative. And remember that it’s called a storyline for a reason: It’s a story, and RPGs are basically allowing players to play through a story, instead of reading through one. Note; your storyline should NOT be written in your place’s description. That’s for explanations, updates, etc. Instead, have an intro, or NPCs (See 10. NPCs) explaining the land’s situation. Note; a backstory is something else to consider, as it can tell the player about the past of the land they are exploring. It’s not as important as the present time of the game, but gives an explanation as to why things are as they are. Quests Quests are essential to RPGs or else it’s just a game where players go around killing things. Quests give the player purpose, and story. Remember to give the quest a purpose, not just an NPC saying Kill 5 goblins!”. Instead have the NPC explain why they want said goblins killed: “Those goblins are a menace to the village, could you kill them? You’ll be rewarded!”. Note; it is helpful to explain what the quest reward is before the player chooses to stest, so they can decide if it is worth it or not. Map The map is probably the least important of the two factors, but that does not excuse its importance. When making your map, remember to make it a decent size to make players actually go on ‘adventures’. It is recommended to use Cframe as much as possible when making your map, and if you don't know how to Cframe, learn or this will all be useless. Normally, the map should be divided up into climates or environments; this will tell the player what types of things they would encounter in that area (ex. a rock monster in a mountain, a lava monster in a volcano). A few types of areas are listed below, not all needed, and definitely not all are listed. A) A town (Some-what necessary, unless you choose not to) B) A mountain (optional) C) A forest (optional) D) A desert (optional) E) A water source (Some-what necessary, water makes it realistic) F) A cave(s) (Fun to explore, but optional) G) A swamp (Good for undead enemies, but uses up a lot of bricks) Remember, make the areas realistic, don't have a big lake in the middle of a desert. Also, avoid blank areas on your map, nothing is more boring that a random patch of grass. And finally, I should mention that every brick on your map should be smooth-surfaced, meaning no studs/inlets, because they can cause a surprisingly big amount of lag. Game Play Game play is probably the most important of the two factors, but also the hardest to include. Game Play is the amount of things to do in an RPG, like killing monsters, quests, cutting trees/mining and exploring. Most RPGs are just the player going around killing things which, although can be fun, will get boring fast. A way to avoid this is to add as many things in this category to your game. Some types of game play options are as followed, but again are not all needed, nor are all listed. A) Monsters (Obviously needed) B) Quests (Needed) C) Cutting trees (Optional, but good way to make money) D) Mining (Same as cutting trees) E) Exploring (Gives the player something to do) F) Puzzles (Optional, but fun to have) G) Have NPCs to talk to (See 10. NPCs) H) Random rewards (See below) -Random rewards; Random rewards are good because if there is a hard area or challenge with no reward, the player would think it as a waste of time, so maybe put a chest on the top of a mountain or have a money prize at the end of a cave. Scenery Most RPG builders do not realize the importance of scenery, and how much it can make your RPG look professional. There is no fun in going to an RPG that has enemies, but only a baseplate and mountain. This will look dull, with nothing to look at. Anyone can copy and paste a nice map, but without scenery a nice map will look very boring. Most RPG makers think that scenery just adds too many bricks which cause lag. But really if you make it right, scenery can look good and only have three bricks. Here is a list of good scenery to have in your RPG, but like always, is optional, and not all are listed. A) Non-cut-able Trees (Adds foliage) B) Bushes (Good to hide small treasure/foliage) C) Rocks (To add detail) D) Statues (Good for Easter eggs, could be built depicting a friend, tester, etc., optional) E) Furniture (Good for houses, optional) F) Signs (With a pointer to a direction) G) Flags (For towns or camps) It should be noted that all scenery, no matter how simple, should be C-framed to reduce brick count. Also, remember to not over-do scenery, you don't want too many things or the brick count would be too high, so spread it out. Also, for any scenery that goes good with itself in a group (Trees in a forest) you'd be surprised how much better it would look if you have each scenery rotated at least once (So you don't have a forest pointing in the same direction). Resources If there is ever an RPG that only has enemies to fight, I promise that it most likely will not be fun. Trees, mines and other resource-gathering methods are a good way to keep the player busy and is also a good money giver, but remember to not over-do it, make sure you always spread the trees and mines out evenly or players will only “farm” those resources and essentially get infinite money. Always make sure that the resources you're adding is in a place that it would look natural in. So don't put trees in a cave, or mines in a forest. Also a good thing to remember is to keep the resources in groups of 4-6, avoid making groups of 7 or more to avoid farming (As said above). Here is a list of good places to put a resource, but as always, are mostly optional and depending on what regions your map has, and not all are listed A) 1 group by starting town; Trees (Optional, but good to have) B) 1-2 groups in an easy cave; Mines (Optional) C) 2-3 groups in mountain; Both (See below) D) 2-3 groups in forest; Trees (Optional, but makes sense) -Mountain resources, the problem with mountains are that they are unique, meaning that some can have mixed proportions of both mines and trees, depending on how big the mountain is in the first place, but I'll let you decide on what you should put where. Note; for deserts, avoid putting any trees in the desert region, and instead use mines, but only sparingly. Enemies From Orcs to Golems, enemies are needed in every RPG, or else it's not really an RPG. If you want your RPG to be a challenge, make sure you add a good amount of enemies with varying levels and rewards, because what is fun about killing a bunch of one-hit-kill enemies? A good thing to think about when positioning enemies is to keep in mind what climate someone might find that type of enemy (Don't put an ice-based enemy in a volcano). When setting the damage that the enemies deal on players, avoid setting it above 50, because you don't want the enemies to kill the player in two hits. Also, avoid setting the Gold and Exp the player gets when killing an enemy too high, as this makes players only go after that enemy and not fight anything else. When deciding how much health the enemy has and to make the amount of Gold/Exp make sense of the corresponding enemy (Have bandits give more gold than a goblins), a good rule of thumb is to just multiply the enemies level by 10, so a level 1 enemy would have 10 health, and a level 10 would have 100 health. Also, in my opinion, any enemy over the level of 100 is ridiculous in any scenario, as the level scaling wouldn’t make sense for players (See Levels for more explanations). Here is a list of good enemies to have in your RPG, but of course, these are all optional, and not all are listed. A) Man (Optional) B) Bandit (Optional, but good to have) C) Orc (Optional, but good for challenges) D) Goblin (Optional) E) Elementals (Ice, fire, earth, air, all optional) F) Undead (Skeleton, ghost, zombie, all optional) G) Golems (Stone, sand, steel, heavy materials, optional but good to have) Remember, have the area around the enemy match the corresponding enemy type (An area with bandits would have tents). This can be a confusing lesson to some people, so I will add an example. Name: Bandit Level: 5 <--- Independent variable for everything below Money: 25 <--- Multiply level by 5 for amount of gold Exp: 20 <--- Multiply level by 4 for amount of Exp Health: 50 <--- Multiply level by 10 for amount of health Damage: 10 <--- Multiply level by 2 for amount of damage (this is actually very strong) Walkspeed: 16 <--- See below -Walkspeed; Walkspeed is kind of in its own column because it is not affected by the level of the enemy, but the type of enemy itself, (make bandits 16 run faster than a stone golem 12) Note; Bosses are a good challenge for some players, and with the proper reward can almost make players go on an adventure just to achieve it. Note; an enemy drop script would be worthwhile for your RPG, as it gives the player a basic loot, past the common Gold and Exp rewarded. Although keep in mind to avoid giving low level enemies high level loot, or players will “farm” those enemies. Note; try not to name any enemies in your RPG from other games. Although it may be hard due the fact that most RPGs use the same list of enemies, like bandits, goblins, undead and orcs. Also, do not add dragons in your RPG unless completely necessary, dragons, if made well can cause a lot of lag, and look pathetic if not made well. And use your imagination! NPCs NPCs: Every RPG should have NPCs, or 'characters' for the player to 'communicate' with or it leaves your RPG looking unpopulated. The good thing about an NPC is that you can have them say anything from quests, to hints, to opinions, to jokes. Easter eggs are also good for NPCs, because you can have them say anything. Note; if you have the skill, avoid have NPCs use ROBLOX’s default Dialog boxes as they are way too limited, and instead use your own GUIs and scripts. Weapons Weapons in RPGs are obviously important, but are often overlooked in many ROBLOX RPGs. Make sure there is a large selection of weapon classes, and even sub-classes. Don’t just have Swords, bows, and magic. Have Daggers (Low damage, fast speed), swords (Medium damage, medium speed), long swords (High damage, slow speed). Long bows (Long range, slow), short bow (Shorter range, faster), crossbows (Direct shot, medium damage, very slow). Magic spells, staves, etc. (Up to you for effects, possibly have one on area, and another shoot projectiles?). This provides players with a large choice of how they play their game (Literally, they choose their Role Role Playing Game). Note; do not have over-powered weapons or every player will try to get it. Avoid having the best weapon be able to kill the worst enemy in one shot to keep up the difficulty. Note; I did not list all the possible weapon types, by far there are way more than that. Note; Legendary items/weapons are always a neat addition, as it gives players things to collect, and can start an adventure just to obtain said item. Levels Levels are a common way to show the player how much they’'ve achieved, or how difficult an enemy might be, but if you are creative enough to have an alternate method to show this, all the power to you. Although for some reason many ROBLOX RPGs have players and enemies exceeding to ridiculous levels with ridiculous amounts of health. To me, this is silly. Unless you plan on having a player level up five times from a single low-level enemy kill, don’t expect players to get over level 100, and definitely don’t make enemies over level 100. Never have a player level up quickly or easily (As in, from a single kill) either, make the player actually work for their level, or else it will lose its achievement aspect and mean nothing. If you can, have levels increase the player’s health by 10 every level, make more quests available, etc. to give them more meaning. Also, avoid having level gaps, as in bandits are level 2, and then goblins are level 5. There is nothing in between for level 3 and 4 players, which now have to kill level 2 bandits because level 5 goblins are too hard. Note; avoid dividing areas by level doors. It’s an inefficient way to keep players away from high-level areas, as the first area, and usually second area are flooded with players, whereas the higher-level areas are never even seen. Instead, make the higher-level areas accessible to everyone, but just so incredibly difficult to low-level players that it would be pretty much suicide to go unprepared. Shops Always essential for RPGs (Unless you have a more creative way), as it gives a common area for players to buy items for the game. Of course, if you have the scripting knowledge, consider having a two-way shop (Buy items and sell items) system to allow players to sell loot they’'ve obtained from the enemy’s drop script. Also, avoid having shops out in the middle of nowhere, as it’s unrealistic. Make them all (Or most) in a town. Another thing to consider is realistic pricing; never make a sword worth 1000000 gold, that’s just silly. The end. Resources RPG Kit: http://www.roblox.com/My-RPG-Starter-Kit-v11-0-item?id=48788197. RPG Creation Guide (Script version): http://www.roblox.com/RPG-Creation-Guide-item?id=93213315. Gold/XP Chests: http://www.roblox.com/Gold-XP-Chests-item?id=105088256. Category:Tutorial Category:Guide